Volvo S60 T5 Test Drive Review – 240hp, 320Nm

I’m rolling down the road in the calmest way possible. It is not just because the road is clear of traffic or that the tarmac has gentle curves; no. The reason is this car, the Volvo S60, still feels like one of the poshest front-wheel wheel drive cars ever produced. Relaxed and composed, I’m not the least bit compelled to give the engine the full beans.

The mill is a T5, which is a step down from the T6 but larger than the T4; if you are not up to speed on Volvo’s nomenclature. It means that the Volvo S60 T5 is powered by a 2.0-litre inline-four that gives 240hp and 320Nm of torque.

Yes, it is powerful for a non-massaged, hotted-up engine. A small engine also gives a smallish economy – 8.3l/100km. A six-speed Powershift – a dual-clutch gearbox – is charged with transferring power to the front wheels.

When urged forward with extreme prejudice, the S60 will respond with a 7.5-second 0-100kph time. That’s very respectable, in spite of it managing to feel heavy getting off the starting line. But it does get up to speed quickly, much like how a boulder starts slow then gets faster as it accumulates with momentum. The S60 is like that and will hit a top speed of 230kph in short order.

You won’t feel it going fast. The NVH has been booted up by many levels till the only thing that hints of speed is the rumble of the steering, the speedometer and the constant blur you see on the other side of the glass.

The S60 truly settles around 130kph, where the car seems most at ease with itself. Ride is supple enough to take in the road and firm enough to make the car stable, giving you plenty of on-the-road confidence.

Handling is actually quite good that it has plenty of grip, obediently adjustable and quick to respond, especially when you’re traversing the B-roads. Long flowing curves can be taken without dropping any speed and the steering provides enough chatter. Apart from that, you’ll pretty much be left alone, to your thoughts, your music and your passengers.

And, it is a fine interior that you’ll be spending time in. Leather upholstery, soft seats and air-conditioning vents on the B-pillar for the rear adds more comfort. The interior is also generously spaced allowing for good elbow and knee room, as well as good ventilation. Cozy would be a good word to describe the interior’s ambience. Which really does not compel me to drive it as if its tail is on fire!

Right now, I have the choice of keeping my foot on the pedal or let the car take over. The smarter-than-average computer system lets you set your speed and the distance you want to keep from the car in front. The system knows when to apply the brakes and will do so till you come to a complete stop.

It still needs your hands to be on the wheel and eyes on the road, the human factor is still very much important and the world is still some ways away from a fully automated car. Right, Adaptive Cruise Control with Queue Assist and Distance Alert switched on.

Eventually, I reach a busy city with appropriately lethargic traffic made up mostly of weekend shoppers. There are more than a few things going on outside that needs more than just a pair of eyes to see. The S60 comes with a gamut of sensors that tells you of objects in your blind spot or if you’re about to hit something you shouldn’t, like a bag of walking flesh for instance.

It also works with pesky scooters that suddenly decide to jump into your path. This causes the S60 to automatically hit the brakes hard, thus avoiding an accident altogether. Insert expletives as required.

Safety, then, is still an important piece of the Volvo jigsaw and it is good that they have sensors that look out for people and things outside of the car. The reduced chances of damaging the bodywork – of the human, not the car, of course – is also a good thing, especially for the wallet.

Brilliant then the S60 has become. If you stack the various German contenders against this Swede, you’ll find that the Volvo can do more than hold its ground. With the amount of tech and interior plush at its disposal, anyone will be hard pressed to strike out this latest S60.

Chris Ng believes that all cars are made equal, and each one has its own unique story to tell. As such, the ex-advertising man is here doing what he truly loves, which is authoring the allegories and anecdotes of automobiles. Having served time in a motoring mag, he believes there's nothing more sublime than keeping the pedal floored and things burbling in top gear.

Volvo doesn’t strike me at this age but it’ll do wonders when I’m much older and my reflexes and eye sight are close to none!

But seriously, the techno gizmo on this car is top notch. I can’t think of any other car that has adaptive cruise control at that price range….even cars above its class like the E Class or the 5 Series does not have it.

a good review – but rather late ain’t it? Volvo has launched the facelifted S60 in many parts of the world and even the xc60 was spotted in jpj and reported by you guys.. is this review meant to push the remaining units ???

The new facelifted really lifts this car to be a passable contender w the other marques — the killer feature IMHO is the new LCD Dash like the V40 and the adaptive cruise control like you mentioned! Being the only car in its class IN MALAYSIA to have adaptive cruise control is simply amazing! BMW & Mercedes needs to wake up and start offering it EVEN AS AN OPTION FOR CKD cars!

It should be noted that the LCD Dash is actually a cost option on a Volvo but has started to make its way a cross all the range. Hopefully VCM will make it standard a cross the upcoming facelift range and introduces the new Sensus connected touch in Malaysia.

It is also such a shame that the facelift S60 model does not port the new V40 dashboard to the S60 as I feel it looks more balance then the current cyclopes aircond vent version

i own s60 T5 2006 facelift model … since day one she rollout from the swedish marque showroom at chan sow lin (now VW showroom)she perform great and she just amazing … its safe , its comfort and not to forget to mention, shes WILD on the road too … not many malaysian know about that T5 emblem actually =P … after almost 8 years of ownership, this is the car that last longer without trouble on engine …. LOVE MY VOLVO S60 T5 =)

I have sat in an S60 in the dealer and it felt nice. However after driving the new V40, I have so much newfound respect for all the Volvos.

The seats are amazing. Just amazing. I think they are probably more comfy than a sofa.

Volvos drive quite well. And also they are very smart. You won’t die in this car.

Oh and did I mention, at night when the lights come on, it looks like a very naughty car.

Its different. Sensible. Very good looking. Good value too, with 5 year warranty and service included (looking at you BMW). Okay, the 328i is just a joy to have, but if you want comfort, forget the C class. Get this.

Brilliant car with impressive specs and service. It would be great if they could be more aggressive and brave with their designs to cater for younger generation as well. BMW malaysia sucks. Terrible service with 2 years warranty only. They will also lie about the BSRI service interval. If u buy new BMW, i guarantee u will have 2 years of hell

Why cant have cars that have it all; safe, looks sporty, comfortable, fast for middle class-upper class category? Most that have all this are panamera, bentley and jaguar. We need more of this for the group a notch below

T5 models (v40 , v60, s60 ,xc60) comes with all d toys, you never have to work it during any traffic jams….ever.. ,s60 is a good car, tho the boot is smaller than its rivals, which is where the v60 comes in…

The ford sourced engine are good , but volvos own new drivE , VEA engines are even better

Just a note the new V40T5 is not a Ford sourced engine. It is a 5 Pot 2.0 Turbo engine which can trace its roots back to the 850 2 litres.
The other T5 current models you are right they are a 4 Pot sourced from Ford.

regardless volvo made engine or ford sourcing..
still then it matches with volvo/ford transmission..
the car will be sluggish..
handling wise is so so…
go test drive and u will feel its sluggish and torque vectoring its just another gimmick; go take fast 360 degree turn near the Glenmarie test route u can see and panic when the car nose goes the other way around..
same with its AWD T6; even worse under steer.

for straight line this car T4, T5 or T6 is OK.
but in turns and corners DONT DREAM.

also the value drops very fast for these T4-T6..
Volvo can easily sell u the 0KM mileage so called pre-own T6 at under RM295K…

Your information is wrong. The Ford engines are tied to the Ford Powershift transmissions where as the Volvo source engine are tied to the AW geartronic transmissions.

The car is sluggish because all Volvo cars are generally very heavy. Even the small V40T4 weights nearly 1.5tons let alone the V40T5 more then 1.5tons.
The purpose of torque vectoring isn’t to make the car less sluggish but to improve handling and traction.
The car is predominantly a front wheel drive layout so of course ALL Volvo cars starting from the 850 will be more prone to under steer. As mention before Volvo opted for a font wheel drive layout before of the safety advantages of the way they can mount their engine and gearbox system. Hence handling would be so-so and uninteresting.
I would agree that the T4 and T5 would have poorer handling characteristics compared to a BMW, Audi or even a Merc but I doubt the T6 would be worse considering it has the Four C variable control chassis specifically to prevent the car from squatting and flexing in corners a part from the Haldex AWD system. Even Tiff Needell says this.

In terms of cornering I have driven an Altis, Civic, Honda and Camry and even in corners I find that I can push the big S80 faster in and out of corners – all these cars are front wheel drive so makes more sense for comparison. But of course for those BMW lovers out there…. with the BMW I can push a 730iL EVEN much faster – impressive considering the car is very heavy and huge. So of course hats down BMW is much better in the handling department.

As for RV I completely agree Volvo has one of the poorest resale value of any European made car in Malaysia. This is the biggest let down and you are right the car drops fast or as I would like to call it like a ROCK!

That is why people who buy BRAND NEW Volvos are people who are very RICH but want to attract very little attention. They are rich and can afford the hefty deprecation!

go test drive the T6 at round bout at glenmarie test route..
u can feel the T6 go the other way around and go panic..
then again go to Audi and take on their Quattro and go spin on the same route..
NO panic.
Take the BM and go the same route no panic.

Sam Loo dupes, bash Koreans and Germans can la, spare the Swede at least. The Swede makes comfortable, safe cars, and though not as reliable as Toyota, never made fun of nasty quality like most Germans, Italians and French. Speaks volume of how better made they are.

tested v60, the wagon version of this guy. both t4 and t5. very strangely didn’t feel the diff much. maybe because as some have said, you just need to apply lots of brakes at the bends because you feel the road slipping away from the steering. and the turbo isnt as smoothly done as a bmw’s: the jerk is quite noticable. but certainly comfort levels are amazing for the price. if the maintenance cost and RV wasn’t so appalling, camry will be blown out of the water.

Did Pt take the picture themself ? Looks very professional.Btw why did the page need to reload every time I hit the reply or send comment than I need to repeat all the reply/comment process again?I’m surfing using Window 8 phone.

Why the late review? Should have come out earlier.
Anyways, i hv been using this car for a year S60 T5. It is much much more comfortable than 3series but, yes, not as nice in handling as the 3. Love this car so much, esp driving long distance. I literally fold my legs and reading newspapers during the trip from Sg-Kl. Adaptive auto cruise is godsend. Love it. This is my second volvo, first was S40. Somehow, keep coming back to Volvo. And… One nice thing about volvo is service every 20k. That helps alot… Alot… Just go to SC once a year to service + renew insurance/road tax. And service is slightly cheaper than 3 series (3 series service interval at15k mind u

how you find your t5?
mine has horrible wind noise esp at window from 90km/h above.its like the window cannot be fully closed
complaint to volvo and they said thats the way the car is.
what make it worse is the new service center up north sucks!
good car but horrible qc and sc

Mine has no wind noise at all. When i first took delivery of the car i asked them to check on the wind noise and any noises fr the inside. I am very sensitive to those. I dispose my waja barely 1 year after bought it new because of that. I suppose they know how to alight those rubbers without ever driving them to test. Its a standard SOP i guess.

I bought my car fr FA in glenmarie. Their service team is really good. The supervisor name is Faisal. Very good chap, knowledgeable and friendly. If you are in kl, go there and look for him. I am sure he can solve the problem.

Hi Fad,thanks for reply
Seems like i’ll have to dump sc up north.
I still can’t believe they said the wind noise is normal.said coz it’s ckd
Wind noise aside,now argueing about free maintenance, mine’s a 2012 reg 2013 ,given 5+5+5, but during 1st service they said my car only eligible for 5 years free warranty

honestly, if second hand value is not a concern, Volvo, Citroen, Pug, Volks and Ford provide a good and cheaper alternative to the Mercs and Beemers. I can list a few reasons
1. These cars do not have that much resale value so no one would steal
2. 2nd value doesnt mean much these days since brand new cars are getting cheaper and they even throw in free service and extended warranty
3. I drive a Ford TDCi and I love every minute of driving…i cant see how much diff a beemer 3 series will be.

So yes, this Volvo is worth looking at (Its in my list though…although the cost of spare parts is a little concern)

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